With These Signs Upon Our Souls
by Riona
Summary: Final Fantasy VIII/Final Fantasy XIII fusion, focusing on the characters of VIII. The exam brief is simple enough: protect the fal'Cie from the Timber resistance. Squall, Seifer and Zell are about to get the mission as wrong as humanly possible.
1. Chapter 1

**With These Signs Upon Our Souls**

* * *

**Chapter One**

* * *

Xu explains the field exam on the train to Timber. Resistance has been building against the occupying Galbadian forces, and there are rumours of a possible attack on the town's food production fal'Cie. If an attack is launched, Galbadia thinks it'll be launched today. Squad B's task is to remain with the fal'Cie and protect it from any intruders.

Something about it is bothering him, Squall thinks, skulking around at the back of his mind, but he can't work out why. Not that it matters. It's not his job to question the mission; it's his job to carry it out.

It seems easy enough. There may well be no attack at all. Of course, in that case nobody's likely to pass the exam; it'll be a test of who's best at standing around and waiting, and it's hard to find out who's SeeD material from that.

The other issue is that for some reason Squall has been put in charge of this squad, and that means he can't just focus on following commands; he needs to keep the others in line. Zell is overzealous and Squall is almost certain that he'll forget they're supposed to keep unnecessary chatter to a minimum, but at least he seems willing to follow Squall's orders. Seifer...

"We are authorised to use only nonlethal force against resistance members," Xu is saying. "The occupying force are already unpopular and don't wish to make themselves more so. Of course, Garden's reputation is also at stake."

"Oh, one of _those_ missions," Seifer says, rolling his eyes.

"Yes, Seifer, one of those," Xu says, coolly. "You've already taken every opportunity to show us how good you are at sticking your gunblade in things; this time, try showing us that you can exercise restraint."

Seifer could be a problem.

* * *

The building that houses Timber's food production fal'Cie is enormous, dominating the central square. Two Galbadian soldiers stand guard outside it. They both nod at Squall as the squad approaches, and one of them unlocks the large double doors – the doors are always kept locked; there was a time when tourists were allowed to visit the fal'Cie under supervision, but Squall vaguely recalls that that practice was stopped after some kind of incident – and stands back to let them through.

They step into a spacious stone-built room, a few degrees cooler than outside. It seems very dark after the bright sunlight of the square. Squall stays still for a moment after the heavy doors have closed behind him, listening to Zell's echoing footsteps, waiting for the glare to fade from his eyes.

When his eyes adjust he sees that the fal'Cie isn't actually here; it must be some sort of hall preceding the fal'Cie's chamber. A similarly tall, elaborate pair of carved double doors stand opposite the ones they came in by. It's not hard to guess where they need to go.

Squall takes two steps towards the second set of double doors, and they open.

A young woman stumbles through the gap in the doors and lets them fall shut behind her, with a bang that echoes around the stone hall. She's holding her arms around herself, and the first thing Squall notices about her is her clothes, blue and black. Not SeeD, not Galbadian army. A civilian?

The second thing he notices is that she's injured, bleeding and bruised and unsteady on her feet, as if she's taken on something far beyond her ability in a fight and barely managed to get away.

A resistance member? They may already be too late, if she was in the fal'Cie's chamber.

The woman stumbles, falls to her hands and knees on the stone flags.

"Hey," Zell says, uneasily, "d'you think she's—"

"_Rinoa!_"

Squall jerks back as Seifer bolts past him. It takes him a moment to realise Seifer was the one who shouted – his voice was almost unrecognisable – but by then Seifer is already by the stranger, trying to help her to her feet. She half-rises but then falls again, with an inarticulate noise of pain.

And something changes in the atmosphere of the room. For a moment Seifer goes completely still and silent, and then he curses viciously. Zell draws in a breath sharply beside Squall. Squall doesn't understand what's happened at first, and then he sees it: an elaborate black brand on the stranger's forearm. Her injuries are the least of her worries. She's a l'Cie.

"The fal'Cie did this to you?" Seifer demands.

"I was just – I was trying to—" She cuts herself off and closes her eyes for a moment, shivering, trying to slow her breathing down.

"What the hell, Rinoa, I told you not to get involved! You _knew_ the exam was today!"

"I couldn't just do _nothing_," she snaps.

Seifer raises a hand, and Zell gives a surprised squawk. When Seifer brings his hand down again and the stranger – almost certainly a resistance member – is bathed in green light, Squall realises that he was Drawing. It'll count against him on the evaluation – Drawing from conscious squadmates is strongly discouraged – but Seifer has always refused to stock Cure spells of his own.

Some of her smaller injuries have started to heal when the light fades, but she still probably needs medical attention. Not that it can do much for her, now that the fal'Cie has her. In any case, the first thing to do is to establish whether the mission has been failed.

"Did you attack the fal'Cie?" Squall asks, stepping forward. "Did you destroy it?"

She looks confused. "Why would I" – she lets out a hiss of pain, grabs her ankle with one hand – "would I try to destroy it?"

Squall frowns. "You're a member of the Timber resistance, aren't you?"

"Yeah, but we need to eat too. I wasn't going to attack our main food source."

"If you didn't intend to attack the fal'Cie," Squall says, his frown deepening, "why are you here?"

She swallows. "I just wanted to talk to it."

"Talk to it?"

"You know, negotiate." Her shivering is getting worse. "I wanted to get it to stop providing food to the army. But..." She hugs her knees to her chest, wrapping a hand around her forearm to hide the brand.

This doesn't make sense. A resistance member took the risk of breaking in just to _talk_ to the fal'Cie?

Actually, that's not the only strange thing about this situation. Why did it make her a l'Cie? Squall had assumed the fal'Cie was acting to protect itself: she was attacking it, so it gave itself some measure of control over her. But if she was just trying to talk...

Was she just... convenient? The fal'Cie wanted something done, so it grabbed the first available human and forced her to do it?

It's certainly a possibility. Does that mean it would have tried to make them l'Cie while they guarded it, though, if this girl hadn't been available?

In that case, it still might. He's heard of multiple l'Cie being assigned the same Focus before: if the first is unwilling or incapable, if it's too large a task for one person to accomplish.

He draws breath to say they should be careful and realises a split-second before he speaks that it's not actually what he's going to say at all. The sight of the injured resistance member, gripping her l'Cie brand – she just wanted to _talk_ to it – sparks something in him, a feeling or a memory, and he says, very calmly, "I'm going to destroy the fal'Cie."

There's a moment's silence. It doesn't last long.

"Are you _crazy?_" Zell demands, at the same time Seifer says, still looking at the resistance member, "Leave the finishing blow to me."

"You can't!" the resistance member exclaims. "Timber will starve!"

"They can trade for food," Seifer says. "Or learn to hunt for themselves. It's not gonna get away with this."

"Does anyone else care that this is the _exact opposite_ of our mission?" Zell asks, desperately. "And also that it's crazy and that thing will definitely kill us?"

"Wouldn't've expected you to suggest it," Seifer says, looking askance at Squall. "Guess I taught you well."

Just hours ago, Squall thinks, he was on the train, worrying that Seifer might do something rash and screw up the mission. It's almost funny. "This isn't about you."

"If it's about me, forget it," the resistance member implores.

Squall frowns. _I don't know you_, he thinks. He decides against saying it.

"Has anyone ever killed a fal'Cie?" Seifer asks, looking thoughtful. "Maybe it'll release you from your Focus."

She shakes her head. "Seifer, you'll die. Even if you don't, you'll just be cutting off a town's food supply. I'm not gonna let you do this."

Squall turns and walks through the doors to the fal'Cie chamber as they argue, and there it is: the fal'Cie Anima, exposed and huge and almost motionless, staring at him with its blank eyes. There's nobody between them; the resistance member must have come alone. Squall has the feeling it's waiting for him to make the first move.

He isn't surprised when Seifer follows him in a moment later.

"Planning to take all the glory for yourself?" Seifer asks.

_Glory?_ Nobody is going to thank them for this. "I thought she didn't want you to fight."

Seifer shrugs. "That's what Sleep spells are for."

The doors open behind them again, and Squall glances back. Zell.

"Squall," Zell says, his eyes fixed on the fal'Cie, his voice shaking like a Caterchipillar that's been hit by a Tornado spell, "you are insane. That thing is gonna kill us. Do you understand? We're all gonna die."

"I'm not asking you to get involved," Squall says, quietly. "If you want to, you can wait outside."

"What, and leave you to get yourself killed?"

"If you're worried about passing the exam, contact Garden and tell them what I'm doing. You're allowed to move against the squad leader if he acts to endanger the mission."

"I'm not worried about becoming a SeeD, you idiot, I'm worried about _you!_"

Squall frowns. "Why?"

Zell gapes at him.

And then Seifer is cocking his gunblade beside him. "You two boys can have all the heart-to-hearts you want later. This was just about to get interesting. We gonna fight this thing or not?"

He's speaking casually, as if he's only in this for a good battle, but there's a break in his voice even Squall can't miss. Who is this resistance member?

Not that it matters.

Squall draws his blade.

"Hey." Zell catches hold of the sleeve of Squall's uniform jacket. "As I might be about to die for you, can you at least tell me _why_ you decided to pick a fight with a fal'Cie?"

"I never asked you to do anything for me."

"C'mon, man."

Squall hesitates. "It took something important from me."

"What, really? Must've been a hell of an important thing. What was it?"

He hesitates again. It's a strange answer, he knows, but it's the only one he has.

"I can't remember," he says.


	2. Chapter 2

**With These Signs Upon Our Souls**

* * *

**Chapter Two**

* * *

Shiva vanishes in a shimmer of ice, and Squall is himself again, blinking blood out of his eyes. The instant he has his bearings, he's back on the offensive. The manipulators have regenerated yet again, but by this point he's got a good idea of where to concentrate his attacks, at least.

They need to work fast. Getting into drawn-out fights is usually a bad idea anyway – he doesn't even know whether fal'Cie can tire – but that isn't the only reason; Garden will be remotely videotaping them for evaluation purposes later. Squall doesn't know whether someone will be checking the live feed during the exam itself, but it seems likely. They could be stopped at any moment.

Rationally, he knows that being stopped is probably the best outcome. They're already flagging, even with the protection of the GFs. Seifer's the worst off; he's not watching their target's moves, which means he can't dodge them and Zell has to keep throwing Cures his way just to keep him on his feet. Squall isn't even certain that they're making progress; it seems Anima can regenerate destroyed parts within a couple of minutes. Zell is getting off hits on the main body while Squall and Seifer keep the manipulators occupied, but they can't be sure that it's not repairing that damage as well. Are they really going to be able to destroy this thing, just the three of them?

There's still a part of him, though, whispering that maybe it's possible. Even if he doesn't really know what destroying it would mean to him.

The double doors creak open behind him, but Squall is too preoccupied with the manipulators to see who's entered. If he's about to be arrested, he's about to be arrested. For now, he's fighting.

"Are you guys Squad B? Name's Selphie; I'm a messenger, from Squad A. You know there's someone sleeping on the floor back there?"

There's something vaguely familiar about the voice, and now Squall does glance over his shoulder. It's a young woman in cadet uniform; it takes him a moment to pinpoint her as the girl who asked him for a tour of the Garden this morning.

She seems to recognise him as well and breaks into a bright smile. "Hey, you're the guy who showed me around!"

"You showed her around?" Zell asks, looking startled. "That doesn't sound like you."

What does Zell know about him? Squall pushes any response down and focuses on the fal'Cie, watching for the next opportunity to strike.

"Thanks! I don't get so lost any more. Are you—" And then she seems to take in the scene before her: the whole of Squad B, fighting the fal'Cie they were called in to protect. "Oh, hey, that's not right. You'll get, like, super marked down for that."

The doors crash open, and Quistis's voice rings through the room. "_Squad B!_ What in Etro's name do you think you're doing?"

And then everything goes dark.

* * *

_a woman with strange markings on her face, and a castle, and a clock, its hands spinning and spinning and spinning._

* * *

He comes to lying on cold stone and slowly drags himself upright, wincing, holding a hand to his forehead. When he tries to step forward his legs falter, and he stumbles against a pillar and has to brace himself there until he feels in control.

They're in the entrance hall, for some reason, not the fal'Cie chamber. The others are scattered around the room, some recovering, some still unconscious. When he edges one of the doors to the inner chamber open and looks in, he sees Anima, still there, still living. Of course. How were three people ever going to destroy a fal'Cie?

Squall lets the door fall closed and limps back into the entrance hall. It makes no sense, but there's a part of him that feels almost elated. They may not have destroyed it, but they took on a fal'Cie and they _survived_.

His hip itches on the left side. He scratches it, and he catches sight of a flash of something dark against his skin, in the narrow gap between his cadet uniform trousers and the hem of his shirt, and that's when he realises that of course he didn't survive it. He may still technically be breathing, but the fal'Cie killed him in there.

He pulls up the side of his shirt a little, just to be sure. The mark of a l'Cie stands out, black and unmistakable. He lets his shirt fall to cover it and looks up to see Quistis staring at him, her hand over her mouth, looking horrified.

It's all right if Quistis knows, he supposes. He'd prefer it if nobody knew he was a l'Cie, but at least she probably has the discretion not to blurt it out immediately, unlike, say, Zell.

But then Selphie bobs to her feet, calling out, "Everyone okay?", and Squall tenses as he sees the same mark on the back of her knee. He's not going to be able to hide it now, not if he wasn't the only one it took. And what about Quistis, Zell, Seifer? Are they l'Cie as well?

Quistis, following Squall's gaze to Selphie's mark, seems to have the same thought and starts to look over herself, quickly. She pulls down her right sleeve to check her shoulder and her entire body slumps. It's only for a moment, though, before she straightens up and draws Selphie aside to speak to her.

It's a relief to Squall, who was beginning to think that he might have to tell Selphie about her brand himself; he's never been good at delivering bad news. From Selphie's expression, though, she seems to be taking it remarkably well. Quistis looks slightly bemused.

From Selphie, Quistis moves on to speak quietly to Zell. Squall watches for just long enough to be sure that Zell is a l'Cie – he takes off his right gauntlet; the mark is underneath – before turning away; he knows Zell will take it badly. To occupy himself while Zell comes to terms with the situation, Squall casts a Scan spell on Seifer, who hasn't yet regained consciousness, making sure that he's not too seriously injured. The Scan informs him that Seifer is a l'Cie as well. Squall closes his eyes and takes a deep breath and tries not to think.

The l'Cie resistance member is next to Seifer, holding his hand. Should he tell her? What is he supposed to do?

His eyes snap open when a dull thud echoes around the room; Zell has slammed his fist into the wall. Zell breathes hard for a long moment, doubled over, his hands braced on his knees, and then he straightens up and gestures in Squall's direction; Squall can't hear what he's asking Quistis, but he thinks he can probably guess. Quistis glances at Squall, hesitating, then nods.

So that's it; everyone is going to know. Zell looks over at Squall. Squall looks away.

They all stay there for a while, just sitting or standing on the stone floor, absorbing what happened. Well, apart from Selphie, who gets bored after a minute or two and goes to practise her fighting stance in a corner.

"Squall," Zell says into the near-silence, staring at the symbol on the back of his hand, "I've gotta tell you I'm kind of pissed off with you right now. Like, I'm not _going_ to punch you in the jaw, but I think you need to know I kind of really want to."

"I told you not to get involved," Squall points out, and Zell actually does punch him. He's not wearing his gloves, of course, but it still hurts more than a little. Squall grunts in pain and brings a hand up to the side of his face.

"_Zell_," Quistis says, sharply.

Zell lets his fists drop, his expression changing in a second from rage to horror. "Oh, man, sorry. You okay? I just – " He gestures, helplessly. "You're just so _stupid_ sometimes."

"He's not wrong," Quistis says, sounding more amused now. "I might have hit you if you'd said the same to me. Are you all right, Squall?"

Squall stares at them both, still holding his hand to his face. It's going to bruise, he can tell already, but not too badly. "Whatever."

What's so stupid about what he said? It's only the truth. He told Zell not to get involved. Zell didn't listen.

God, all these people – Quistis, Zell, Selphie – are l'Cie because of him. Why couldn't they have just stayed out of his battle? It shouldn't have become anyone else's problem.

He tries to bury the thought. At least he's fairly certain that Seifer would have gone after the fal'Cie whether Squall had attacked it or not. And there's nothing they could have done for the resistance member, really.

Although maybe if they had moved a little faster, got there a little earlier...

No point thinking about it.

The resistance member hasn't moved; she's still here, stooping over Seifer, who is beginning to stir.

"You sure you're okay?" Zell asks Squall, looking anxious, and then he seems to notice the resistance member as well. "Oh, hey, how're you doing?" She looks up. He displays the branded back of his hand to her with a grimace. "Looks like we're all in the same boat now, right? So I guess we should introduce ourselves. I'm Zell."

_All in the same boat_. It's not an expression Squall likes, but he can't deny that, one way or another, none of the six of them is going to be living much longer.

"...Rinoa," the resistance member says, after a moment. She looks back at Seifer. "You're all from Garden, right? Do any of you have any Cure spells? I don't have a GF, so I can't—"

But a green glow is building in the fingertips of the hand she has resting on Seifer's chest – it began when she said 'Cure spells' – and now she makes a startled noise as green light spirals out from her hand to engulf him. As it dissipates, Seifer coughs, twice, harsh and grating, and blinks his eyes open.

"...of course," Rinoa half-whispers, staring at her hand. "l'Cie. They can use real magic."

"Like a Sorceress," Seifer says, dragging himself into a sitting position, his legs stretched out in front of him, his eyes fixed on hers. A pained smirk plays on his lips. "We'll get through this," he says, in a tone Squall has never heard him use before; his voice is light, but his eyes don't waver from Rinoa's. "You just need a knight to help you complete your Focus."

It's not something Squall would have expected himself to notice, but it's the first time he's ever been in the same room as Seifer and felt invisible. He's not sure how he feels about that.

Rinoa punches Seifer on the shoulder. "I could kill you right now! I told you not to fight it! Why didn't you listen?"

Seifer shrugs. "We got out, right? See, you shouldn't have doubted me."

"That's not the _point!_" Rinoa exclaims, and then she hesitates, glancing back at Zell. She leans over to whisper something to Seifer, and Seifer stares at her for a moment before checking himself all over. When he pulls up the leg of his trousers, there it is, just above his right ankle: the l'Cie brand.

And that's it. He knew about Seifer already, of course, but actually seeing the brand brings the situation into sharper relief, somehow. Six of them. Six l'Cie. Most of them l'Cie because of his own stupid mistake.

Squall wonders whether they all have the same Focus.

Squall wonders what kind of Focus needs six people to carry it out.


	3. Chapter 3

**With These Signs Upon Our Souls**

* * *

**Chapter Three**

* * *

"Squall Leonhart. Seifer Almasy," Cid says, gravely. "Not only did you act contrary to the mission, but you endangered the entire town of Timber by attacking its main food source. You understand that I have no choice but to expel you from Garden. You have twenty-four hours to collect your possessions, return your GFs and say your goodbyes."

Squall says nothing. It's what he was expecting. Beside him, Seifer makes a contemptuous noise, as if he hadn't spent half his life striving to become a SeeD.

Cid turns his attention to the others with them. "Zell, Selphie, you are not being held responsible for the events of the field exam. You won't become SeeDs on this occasion, of course, but you may remain in the Garden and take the exam next year as usual."

Zell glances over at Squall. "Thanks, Headmaster, but I don't know if I've got that long. I think I'm gonna stay with Squall. Gotta complete our Focus, right?"

What?

Cid nods. "Very well. Selphie? For the sake of the Garden's reputation you would need to conceal the fact that you are a l'Cie, but—"

"No, thanks," Selphie interrupts him. Cid looks slightly taken aback. "Like, no offence or anything, but this whole l'Cie adventure thing sounds like it could be more fun."

What l'Cie adventure thing? Why do Zell and Selphie seem to have decided that they're all going to be travelling together? Squall wasn't planning any sort of adventure; he was just going to...

...actually, he doesn't know what he was going to do. Garden is all he can remember. Where does he go now?

After a moment, Cid nods. "All right. I'm sorry to be losing four promising cadets today, but I suppose it can't be helped. I wish you luck in completing your Focus." He sets the incident report to one side on his desk. "Can you send Instructor Trepe in as you leave? We need to discuss her position."

* * *

Squall is clearing out his dorm – taking what he needs, throwing the rest away – when there's a knock at the door. Frowning slightly, he straightens up and goes to open it.

"Zell," he says.

"Yo, Squall." Zell steps through the doorway, looking curiously around him. Squall isn't sure why; he's never thought of his room as particularly interesting.

"Was there something you wanted?" Squall asks, when Zell has been staring at his gunblade case for longer than he's comfortable with.

"Oh, yeah!" Zell exclaims. "There's something on Garden Square I think you should see. C'mon."

Garden Square? There's never anything worth reading on there; it's all arguments and strange people talking about Instructor Trepe. "Can't you tell me yourself?"

"No, c'mon, man. This is important."

Maybe they've pledged to keep hot dogs in stock at all times from now on and Zell has decided he can't leave after all. "All right. Show me."

* * *

_Squall,  
__They revoked my instructor's licence. I'd probably have resigned if they hadn't; I think all our priorities have changed now.  
__The Headmaster told me it seemed you all planned to travel together. I'd like to join you, if you'll allow me to. I'll be waiting at the front gate.  
__I hope you see this before you leave.__  
_

_- Quistis_

_What?! They revoked your licence? You're the best instructor ever! We've gotta protest or something!_

_- Trepe Groupie #1_

_Wait, this means you can date students now, right?_

_- Trepe Groupie #1_

* * *

Squall presses a hand over his face. Why does she only address _him_ by name, as if he's somehow the leader of their apparently-a-group? He's no good with responsibility; why do these people keep trying to force it on him?

"So we're gonna let her come with us, right?" Zell asks, next to him. "I figure the more of us there are working on this Focus thing, the better our chances."

Squall considers. Quistis is intelligent, reasonably level-headed, an asset in a fight. If he really cared about completing his Focus, he'd want her with him. But he's a l'Cie; he's already lost. Whether they complete their Focus or not, this doesn't end well for any of them.

So why can't the people who think that completing their Focus makes a difference look for it together, without him? Why do they have to look to him as if he's some kind of leader? On his own, it wouldn't matter whether he completed his Focus or not. Now, if they don't complete it, he'll be letting everyone down.

He nods. "We can meet her on our way out."

"Great!" Zell enthuses. "Pretty sure Selphie's waitin' in the lobby, too. You know, I actually feel good about our chances right now."

What chances? "We don't even know what our Focus is."

Zell looks uncomfortable. "Well, yeah, but... we all had the same vision, right? Maybe we can work it out if we all think about it."

What do they have to go on? A woman; Squall has already forgotten her face. A huge, shadowy castle. A clock face, superimposed over some sort of old-fashioned town square he's never seen before. Are they supposed to fight that woman? Help her? Maybe they're just meant to repair the clock in her castle; it's not as if any other explanation for their shared vision makes more sense. How is anyone ever supposed to work out what a fal'Cie wants them to do? This is impossible.

"Let's go," he says, pushing himself away from the computer.

* * *

When they reach the front gate, Quistis is indeed there, but she isn't alone; the Timber resistance member in blue (what was her name? Rinoa?) is with her. Selphie waves enthusiastically at both of them and at a passing male student who, judging from his confused expression, doesn't appear to know her.

"I was beginning to think you'd missed my message," Quistis says with a smile. "You remember Rinoa."

Rinoa raises a hand in greeting. There's a slight stiffness to her movements – she's probably still feeling the effects of engaging a fal'Cie without a Guardian Force – but she looks better than she did the first time they met. "Hey."

"Hey!" Zell and Selphie chorus. Squall nods.

"I came here to wait for Seifer," Rinoa says. She's wearing blue armwarmers now, Squall notices, to cover her l'Cie mark. "Then Quistis here told me you were all gonna look for our Focus together, so I thought, y'know, if you'll have me... I mean, it sounds like you guys saw the same thing I did. The castle and Winhill and stuff, right?"

"Winhill?" Selphie asks, tilting her head.

"Oh, right. It's this tiny little Galbadian town. My dad took me there a few times when I was a kid."

"I did see some sort of town square," Quistis says. "There was a sort of flower design in the centre. And a statue, I think."

Rinoa nods. "Yeah, that's Winhill."

Zell looks over at Squall, grinning. "See? We've got a lead already."

"So you're going there, right?" Rinoa asks. She's looking at Squall as well, as if this is his decision. "Can I come with you?"

Squall frowns. _You're a civilian_, he almost says, but they're all civilians now. "We don't know the details of our Focus," he says instead. "It could be dangerous. You won't have our combat experience."

"You're saying I might hold you back?"

"I'm saying you could be killed."

"Well, I'm gonna try to complete my Focus either way," she says, after a moment. "Guess I'd better stick with the ones with 'combat experience'." She glances around. "Plus I'm kind of worried about Seifer. Not that I think you guys can't handle him or anything, but still."

_Seifer_? It hadn't even occurred to Squall that he might want to come. Stress can hasten the transition into a Cie'th, and Squall can't imagine many things that would be more stressful for Zell than having Seifer travelling with them.

Zell has turned pale. "Seifer? _He's_ not coming, is – is he?"

"Thought you'd leave without me?" asks a voice from behind them.

Seifer strides past them, holding Hyperion unsheathed. Rinoa and Selphie greet him cheerfully; Quistis casts a cautious glance at Zell.

"Don't look so terrified, Chicken-wuss," Seifer says with a laugh, clapping a hand on Zell's shoulder; Zell jerks and clenches his hands into fists. "Like I'd actually want to go with you guys."

"C'mon, Seifer, don't be like that," Rinoa says. "We've gotta have a better chance of finding our Focus if we all work together."

"Er," Quistis begins, quietly, "I'm not so sure that's a good..."

"Please," Rinoa implores him. "I don't want to be a Cie'th."

* * *

Quistis pauses as they're walking towards Balamb town, turns back.

"Did you forget something?" Squall asks.

She shakes her head. "I just thought I'd take a last look at the Garden. It's strange to think I might not see it again. It's been my home for such a long time." She looks over at Squall. "Yours too, hasn't it?"

"Yeah," Zell says, turning and jogging backwards a few paces, "this is weird." He hesitates. "Can we stop in Balamb? I need to say—" His voice catches, and he rolls his shoulders awkwardly before trying again. "I need to see my ma."

Squall doesn't look back. Neither, striding some distance ahead in grim silence, does Seifer.


End file.
